Accepted to various other schools such Penn State, i’ve narrowed it down to these two schools. From upstate NY looking to major is business, most likely entrepreneurship. My success in school and finding a career is first but i also want to have a school were i will have a lot of fun but fit in. Im a organized 92 gpa football player and wrestler. Active in the community, captain of sports teams, etc. Both campuses are beautiful and seem to have super awesome people.
JMU- is closer to home, probably considered to be better recognized. Not a college town and would really have to stay on campus. I have a cabin 45 mins away from university but freshman cant bring cars. Decent student pride, sports not to major. Close to dc for internships and job opportunities but more for gov opportunities. warm weather.
CU boulder- Far away from home, great weather. Best college town in the nation, things to do on campus and off. have good business program but not very globally recognized yet. stereo type of party school. Very active campus and state which i am. never will be bored, cold winters which i wanted to escape, but i can ski.
Any suggestions on which is a smarter options? Personal experiences? recommendations on how to decide? thanks!
UC Boulder is well-recognized in the West so don’t worry about that.
Where would you like to work after college?
Have you looked at the intramural teams and club sports at either one?
If you calculate (tuition, fees, room, board) - (grants, scholarships)
how much does each cost and what is your parents’ budget (out of pocket, not with loans)?
UC-Boulder is far better known than JMU, and it’s not even close. Both are very good schools, but UC-Boulder is an internationally recognized research university with big-time sports programs while JMU is a gem of a regional school that is little known among the general populace beyond a short radius of VA. There are good reasons, such as cost, that one might choose JMU over UC-Boulder but reputation and recognition should not be among them.
Winters in Boulder (and generally CO Front Range) aren’t truly cold – at least not by the standards of upstate NY. Lots of snow, but high altitude sun with very few cloudy days and a semi-arid climate means it’s not at all like winters in the Northeast/Midwest. You can often walk between parking lot and office/shops etc without a jacket in winter; I used to do it all the time
I agree that JMU isn’t as well known (and I’ve lived in that part of the country too), although it’s very well-ranked and so I’m sure it’s well-known where it counts – eg by employers. Either way, you’re fairly likely to end up working near where you pick – not inevitable, but it’s a good chance – so that’s something to consider. CU would prepare you nicely for Denver and the West in general while JMU would probably have more internships etc related to VA and the upper South / DC / Atlantic states.
Thank you those are all things I need to consider. The cost is not an issue for my family. One thing about boulder that worries me is the “pot head”/party reputation that come along with it. I agree that it would most likely be better to get a job in Denver, but I’m concerned on how that outlook will effect getting jobs in other areas.
I also just have been accepted to vt which complicates this decision as well.
Still trying to figure out why you would choose either of those schools over Penn State for business. I used to live in VA and now live in PA, and know lots of kids at those schools and at VT. JMU is very Southern-preppy, it’s an OK school but is considered a safety for almost everyone in VA. The central quad is nice but the rest of the campus is kind of dreary in my opinion, and there is nothing to do off campus in Harrisonburg at all. If your cabin is at Bryce or Massanutten at least you can ski in the winter, but it’s not that far to VT from there either. Not sure about JMU’s business program, but it’s probably not as good as VT. VT is a much more competitive school that draws more students from all over the country and internationally to its highly rated engineering, CS, and architecture programs. It also has a good sports program at a higher level than JMU if you like going to games and tailgating. Fantastic alumni network too, especially in the DC area. A bit farther from home for you but still driveable. Not a lot to do in Blacksburg either, but it’s a bigger school so there will be more social activities on campus than at JMU.
Max, there is no “pothead/party reputation” that “comes along” with CU when you’re not in high school. Seriously, the adult world doesn’t think that way. It’s not about jocks and stoners anymore. You’re not going to end up applying for a job as a business grad with a (hopefully) strong college record and have the employer think, “Oh, he went to college in Boulder so he must be a pothead.” They’re more likely to think you must ski
Of course, if that’s the rep you sense through the grapevine among your friends and read on the internet, it’s reasonable to assume there’s something to it – not that everyone is a pothead or that future employers will tag you personally that way, but that you may have a somewhat higher percentage of the folks on your hall with pot-scented rooms. That’s something to take into account in the decision-making process. Although, frankly, I do a bunch of googling to try to figure out the vibe of different colleges, and there are an astounding number of surprising places where you end up reading comments and reviews like “no one here does anything but smoke and drink!” Take that stuff with a grain of salt. I went to a top-tier “little Ivy” with a preppy rep and it had its share of potheads and partiers – albeit presumably with good high school GPAs and SAT scores, LOL. Such is life. You’ll even find some of that at Virginia Tech
Which, from a sheer “school reputation” standpoint, is probably the best on your list. Congrats, you’re getting some great choices! Any of them would be the right choice for some people.
